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Better Watch Out
Movie:
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Final Score:
Movie:
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Extras:
Final Score:
Horror always seem to have their greatest films in the past. I grew up in a time watching 80s horror slashers, and the 90s werewolf and gore fests as a young child (which could explain a few things), and watched all the “good ones” seem to peter out around the turn of the century. Sure, there have been some bonafide classics in modern times, but too many films just devolved into the early 2000s “torture ” category, with films like Hostel and Saw grossing people out with over the top shock value torture as a way to inspire fear. It seems that the likes of Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th were no longer the norm, but rather the exception. I was blown away by a wicked little indie film called You’re Next a few years back, which revitalized a breath of fresh air into the slasher genre (actually, it was more of a reverse slasher), and this year I’m happy to say that a little unknown film named Better Watch Out is here to do the same to the Christmas themed horror genre.
Ironically I just reviewed Silent Night, Deadly Night a few days ago, which was one of the most “controversial” Christmas terror films of all time (more out of hype out of the protests made during the 1984 holiday season more than it being truly worthy of being controversial), and I had a BLAST with Krampus a few years back, so color me just a bit surprised to see lightning proverbially strike twice in such a short amount of time. I had seen a GLIMPSE of the trailer for Better Watch Out, but only the briefest of glimpses before something drew my eyes away from YouTube and I completely forgot about it until the Well Go USA disc showed up on my doorstep to review. And in that I take a sigh of relief that I never actually finished the trailer, as this is a movie that you REALLY should go into completely blind. If you’ve noticed, I took out the normal trailer at the end of the review that I normally insert, because I am going to take away that temptation for you, or at the very least have given you fair warning about that fact, because the “twist” that happens at the end of the first act really throws you for a loop and is MUCH better taken as a surprise as the trailer gives away WAY too much.
I struggled to decide on how to give a synopsis of Better Watch Out without giving away too much. I went back and forth deciding if the twist should be kept secret, but if I went that route it SEVERELY limits the amount of analysis I can give in my write up. On the flip side, if I give away the secret and give a thorough write up, it spoils one of the most twisted surprises in the film and that alone takes away some of the fun. As such, I’ve decided that its best to just sum up a few points and leave the viewer with the opportunity to experience the film at face value rather than letting me spoil the movie for you.
Better Watch Out is one of the best Christmas horror movies I’ve seen since Krampus a couple of years back, and that’s saying something as I really loved Krampus. The movie has a darkly comedic vibe to it, with just enough twisted perversion and gore to make the viewer uncomfortable. It almost seems like the movie has its tongue firmly implanted in its cheek while it takes many of the old cliches of the slasher films of the 80s, and mixing it together with a biting social commentary about misogyny and “I DESERVE IT!” mentality of the Brock Turner psychos we have today. The film is fairly benign at the beginning, but once the twist happens at the end of the first act the movie kicks off into full gear. At that point you’re almost squirming in your chair at the obvious perverted take that the movie has gone (although it’s all suspense vs. actual events), and when the dark side of the killer has come out, it goes full gore on us with blood and guts everywhere, culminating with a finale that leaves you grinning from ear to ear as the tables get turned once more (although a mid credits sequence may give the killer the upper hand once more).
Rating:
Rated R for disturbing violent content, language throughout, crude sexual references, drug and alcohol use - all involving teens.
Video:
Audio:
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Extras:
• Original Trailers
Final Score:
It’s dark, it’s disturbing, and Better Watch Out is one of the freshest breathes of fresh air in the holiday horror genre that I’ve experienced in quite some time. I’m a horror hound since the 80s, but I’ve become so desensitized to the amount of drek that gets put out (and to be honest, has always been put out) that it’s immensely refreshing to watch a film that bowls you over and leaves you with just the right amount of horror and disgust, combined with the classic attraction to the victim making it out alive. Most of these films are fairly boring and cliched (even though I love it, Silent Night, Deadly Night is not the most brilliant horror film in the world). Much like Krampus, I give it both thumbs up as the twists will throw you for a loop, and the tone is spot on perfect as it makes light of the gore and horror by coupling it with the joys of the holiday. Revealing WHO the killer is, is one of the most disturbing parts of the film, and once that settles in, you’re in for a very wicked time. Audio and video are fantastic from Well GO USA, and the extras (while sparse), are actually pretty solid with a 50+ minute featurette that is well worth digging into. Highly recommended for horror lovers.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Levi Miller, Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould
Directed by Chris Peckover
Written by: Zack Kahn
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: NR
Runtime: 85 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: December 5th, 2017
Recommendation: Must Get for Horror Fans
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